How I Get Sh*t Done: The 3pm Box

Not all snacks are created equal. The founders of The 3pm Box, Angelica D’Amelio and Dorothy Laskowski know this all too well. These Australian entrepreneurs are on a mission to help you discover treats and snacks that are truly wholesome and to spread the message of a healthy life does not mean a restricted life. The 3pm Box is a monthly subscription box that allows consumers to discover new healthy treats from emerging Australian entrepreneurs and it all gets delivered right to your door! Healthy is Hot caught up with these two boss-ass beauties to talk about how they got their start in the business world, how their roles differ in the company and of course they’re go-to snack when they want to treat themselves!

Why did you start The 3pm Box?

A&D: The 3pm Box began by both Dorothy and myself undertaking our own health journeys. We both always had an interest in healthy eating, working out, and a love for trying new foods. Working together originally as teammates, we’ve had limitless conversations about different ways of eating, our workout routines and (most importantly) healthy desserts!

Working in a traditional corporate setting, events were usually catered with food that we felt steered away from our healthy eating lifestyle. Now we’re not saying you can’t treat yourself or that those are bad food choices, but that those options didn’t resonate with our goals at that time. What made it even more challenging was that we were aware of all the AMAZING healthy treat options that were out there having discovered them ourselves. Knowing we both shared this passion, Dorothy and I began sharing recipes, lunch spots and ideas on snacks that hit the mark on both nutrition and taste.

One day we went out to our regular chai latte cafe and started talking about business ideas. Dorothy, being Polish had ideas to open up a restaurant and serve THE BEST polish dishes out there. Dishes which she had grown up with and loved eating at events throughout the year (note to self- include in the business plan). For me, I always had a passion to do something entrepreneurial and had almost seriously started my own healthy dessert business before reality snuck up on me with postgraduate degrees and a promotion which pulled me back into the corporate world. We talked and talked and mentioned the idea of having healthy snacks at events, in the afternoon and available when you need a little ‘pick me up’. After chatting about this idea for a short while we had established a partnership, roles, and responsibilities to understand if this idea had potential. We did our research, crunched some numbers and made a commitment to each other to not only share the strong belief we had that ‘a healthy life does not mean a restricted life,’ but to make a commitment to take a leap into our passion, into something that lights us up, that we WANT to talk about all day-everyday and something that we believe is OUR TRUTH. Although we’re juggling this on top of everything else we have committed to, this is where our lovelies. Sharing our knowledge and passion for healthy eating in a BIG WAY.

So here we are, The 3pm Box! Everything we have secretly been dreaming of and has been creating sub-consciously is now right here in front of us.

What are your roles as a team and separately in the business?

A: Together we run every part of the business. Dorothy is our social media queen. She is the fire behind our social media presence and success in addition to being The 3pm Box curator. Dorothy will get super inspired by a theme or products and works closely with our healthy treat partners that eventuate in our new box launch.

D: Angelica created our website and is now running our blog, however, her main passion is when she’s out networking with companies and brands who share the same love for health and wellness that The 3pm Box stands for. She finds ways to collaborate so we can run exciting events and solve problems for our partners’ clients (i.e. missing out on dessert time!!).

A&D: Although these tasks are sometimes separated we are always working as a team. We love pressure testing ideas, brainstorming with each other and get friends and family to taste test, help gain feedback to ensure we have the absolute best product that excites us and our customers.

What’s it like to be a boss of your own company?

A&D: This question made us laugh because when we first started each week we’d say to each other “is this real?” and now we’re saying to each other “we are entrepreneurs!!!!” And not only that, we LOVE EVERY SECOND OF IT! It feels so good to bring something to life that’s been tucked away sub-consciously for so long. When we work on the business, go to events or head out for a lunch together it just feels right.

It’s your average day- what does your morning routine look like?

A: Monday to Friday is a little the same for me. I wake up and get ready for work always walking to the station. During this walk, I either pop on a podcast, listen to one of my holistic nutrition lectures or if I want a little more time to wake up I won’t put anything on. Once I get to the train station I read. I absolutely LOVE reading. At home, we have a joke that my section of the bookshelf is the ‘self-help section’. I just love reading about improving yourself, phycology, habits, living your truth, or how others have taken steps to build their success. I follow this pattern on the way home; read on the train and pop in my earphones for the walk home. When I’m at home I always make time for my gorgeous little dog Jasper and spend time writing down my thoughts.

Once at work I start with a green tea each morning and lots of water before I eat anything and normally like to intermediate fast so don’t touch breaky until mid-morning.

I like to work out about 5 days a week but love to move every.single.day. It’s so important for me to move around and not sit all day as it’s very easy to do when you work in a corporate setting and then come home to work a little more! My workouts fit around my work schedule which is a mix of long-distance running, Pilates, boxing and yoga.

On weekends I try to get a workout done in the morning so I can tick that off for the day. If not working on The 3pm Box or attending an event, you’ll most likely find me at a healthy cafe eating a peanut butter smoothie bowl with my boyfriend. These are my absolute fave!!

D: While my weekdays are slightly different, my weekly routine consists of the same routine - I thrive on this and wouldn’t have it any other way! I have come to learn that I am a morning person, and my day begins around 5am most weekdays mornings. I start it off with lemon water and apple cider vinegar and head straight to training. When I get home I have my breakfast (best meal of the day) and cover The 3pm Box emails.

I fit in 10 minutes of meditation before leaving my house for my corporate job in the city as I have found it sets me up well for the day.

I take the train to the office and use this time to listen to lecturers from my Health Coaching course or do some ‘Gramming’

What’s your go-to snack for anyone on the go?

A: My mum’s homemade hummus or avocado with Kitz seed crackers that are full of fiber, nutrients and hold amazing organic ingredients in them.

D: Either some walnuts or a protein ball from The 3pm Box. My current favourite is the Koja protein bars; it has literally taken so long to find a protein bar without nasty sweeteners or additives, but we did it!

How do you like to get your sweat on?

A: My workouts consist of long distance running, boxing, Pilates, and yoga. I’m normally sweating the most when partaking in the boxing class and whilst running. I find both of these activities so freeing and a release of built up energy and strength which feels good once it’s let go. Pilates and yoga are my go-to for not only getting a workout but feeling energized and lengthened. I laugh with my yoga teacher because I seriously feel like I’m floating when walking out of her class.

D: I train at an amazing facility called Fit Centre and get my sweat on there. It’s a combination of strength training, circuits, and HIIT- it’s an environment that’s never boring and pushes your limits in the best way possible.

Do you have a favourite mantra you say every day or a quote you keep around you?

A&D: “A healthy life does not mean a restricted life”- this is The 3pm Box motto. We SERIOUSLY believe it! When relating this mantra to food. Especially when it comes to dessert, there are SO many delicious treats out there that are booming with nutrients. You’re missing out if you don’t have them!

“Done is better than perfect” - There are so many people out there with amazing ideas, like us, we had a few ideas lingering around which we continued to think ‘what if?” the secret is just to get out there are do SOMETHING, and keep doing something until it’s real. There are definitely areas of the business that could be further refined or thought through more thoroughly, however to get a business up and running, decisions need to be made. We do love absolutely everything we’ve created and will continue to put in 100% however sometimes you have to accept a decision and keep moving to keep the momentum up and the business ticking along.

What does your bedtime routine look like?

D: From realizing that I’m a morning person when I am most efficient, and that having an early start most days, I have worked hard over the last few months to bring more discipline to my bedtime routine and be in bed by 10pm. I’ve had a generally high success rate and meeting this self-attributed goal, and have noticed a world of difference in my energy release over the day.

A: I laugh at myself because for the last ~5years I’ve set myself a bedtime of 10:30pm. I feel that this time allows me to rest fully and recharge to perform at my optimum the next day. I tried to set a new bedtime at 10pm but found myself quickly packing up everything and literally RUNNING to make it in time. I found that there’s no need to fix what isn’t broken so I’m going to stick with my 10:30pm bedtime for now.

How do you like to unwind after a long day?

D: A hot shower. There is something special about washing away the day that was, and starting off fresh. That, and lavender essential oils and magnesium oil are my evening go to’s.

A: I joke that ‘a cup of tea solves all problems’ and that’s my go-to after a big day; actually you’ll find a cup a tea in my hand all day every day! I do I believe that a cup of tea is what helps me unwind though, and it’s mainly because I have to step away from my computer or whatever it is that I’m doing and spend time consciously preparing a warm drink that’s just for me, for that moment.

You both talk a lot about not restricting yourselves when it comes to food- so we have to ask. If you’re going to treat yo’self with your favourite dessert, what would you choose?

A&D: We both believe that our desserts that we treat ourselves with follow the same guidelines as the beautiful products we have in The 3pm Box that is, refined sugar free, no artificial flavours and colours, you know, no ‘fake healthy’ stuff.

A: For me its most things peanut butter flavoured, however, whilst writing this I’m thinking about our go-to cafe in Melbourne. Dot and I find this cafe to be ‘super convenient’ place to meet up and have meetings. They create raw desserts and healthy brownies. I think I could go for a slice of a raw snickers cake or their beetroot brownies! YUM!!

D: I second that, I love a good raw snickers slice. Then there’s always my mum’s homemade Polish cheesecake.

On a recent blog post of how you got started, you mention that the 3pm Box was like a secret dream you both hoped to fulfill one day- what advice would you give young entrepreneurs who want to start their own business?

A&D:

○ Find something you REALLY believe in

○ Have a clear WHY. Build a business based on something that will get you JUMPING out of bed each morning, something you’re passionate about and that you don't mind talking about all day every day

○ Follow the motto that “done is better than perfect.” You need to keep parts of the business ticking and get something live rather than spending that additional year planning and having no business during that time. You can tweak and move things around when living and who knows, maybe the imperfect version turns out better!

○ If you have a business partner in mind for your company, find ways to make sure you can work well with each other prior to setting up the business. You want any avoidable surprises along the way! I think we both agree that having a partner is SO good. It halves the workload, gives you someone to bounce ideas off, brainstorm and get excited about building and growing the business with.

What does Healthy is Hot mean to you?

A&D: Being able to do whatever it is that you want to do. Health will allow you to travel, play with your little cousins, run around with your dog, meet fitness goals, meet academic, career or personal goals. People achieving what they want to do in their life i.e. they get stuff done is HOT! You can be completely set back from achieving whatever you want to achieve if you have no energy, no nourishment, no fitness. It’s HOT when you reach goals or you see others reaching theirs.